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Is China a bully? If you stopped the average person in the street
and asked this question, the answer would probably be a resounding
‘YES’. Why? A bully is defined as: Someone who habitually seeks to
harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable.
So how could China be a bully?

A week or so ago, we discussed the union bashing disguised
as concern for ‘essential workers’ from LNP MPs Andrew Laming
and Peter Dutton. Unfortunately, the pitiful behaviours exhibited by
these two LNP politicians is not reserved to the outer suburbs of Brisbane.

You may have seen Federal MP Andrew Laming’s comment in the
media recently suggesting that parents send their children back to
school, regardless of the recommendations of the various Education
Departments around Australia. The ABC’s version of the story is here.

How many times have we questioned the mental status of POTUS Trump?
It was as far back as November 2016 that we began to do so with
Let’s welcome President Trump. Even then, Michael Moore expressed
his doubts about Trump’s surprise election and predicted, albeit incorrectly

It seems Australia’s success so far in reducing the impacts of COVID 19 has
a lot to do with the co-ordinated efforts of the various state governments and
the federal government. Comparisons to other countries with similar qualities of
life demonstrate Australians are experiencing less Coronavirus related illness and death.

Have you ever noticed there are some ‘special people’ in our society
that are always hustling to gain a sniff of an advantage? With the current
restrictions on life as we (used to) know it accepted by the majority of
Australians in an effort to prevent a far worse tragedy, our hustlers seem
to be lining up to demonstrate their complete lack of regard for the rest of us.

The Political Sword

Last week, we published an article demonstrating that Prime Minister Turnbull really hasn’t changed all that much. While he has fiddled around the edges and has shown some ability in attempting to explain policy better, Australia is still treating refugees who attempt to come here abysmally; there i...

[Can you pick the difference?]
On 14 September, Malcom Turnbull was elected leader of the Liberal party and, as a consequence, became the 29th prime minister of Australia. There was an almost immediate change in the timbre of political discussion. But has anything else changed?
For exam...

It is now a month into the prime ministership of Malcolm Turnbull. Based on previous history, Turnbull is considered to be a ‘left wing’ Liberal, judging on his pronouncements over the years — being in favour of emissions reduction, same sex marriage, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) internet connection...

In my pieces I often refer to neo-liberalism. As explained in my pieces last year, ‘Whose freedom?’ and ‘Whose responsibility?’, the neo-liberal idea of freedom is based on the rational self-interested individual and it also adopts the approach of ‘negative’ freedom (following Isaiah Berlin...

It’s not a secret that former Prime Minister Abbott is a ‘committed Christian’. Former Prime Minister Rudd also wore his Christianity on his sleeve — frequently shown on the Sunday night news answering questions outside a church in his electorate. Both are entitled to their beliefs, as are the...

What is wrong with this paragraph from a report in July regarding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander work-for-the-dole scheme?
A Territory community’s work for the dole program is about to collapse, with accusations a Sydney-based company stands to keep receiving funding while nothing ...

In 1930, Clyde W. Tombaugh found a ninth planet in our solar system and, after a time being known as ‘Planet X’, it gained the name Pluto. Contrary to popular belief, the planet wasn’t named after the Disney character or the nuclear element plutonium; rather the planet was named after the Roman ...

In a piece in June, ‘The unhappy marriage of democracy and capitalism’, I discussed the then situation in Greece and the way democracy was being ignored by the wielders of economic power, particularly the bankers and the power brokers of the financial system. Since then the bankers have won, t...

Later this year a conference will be held in Paris that will determine the global response to climate change. While the international jockeying has commenced, it seems there is a ‘tipping point’ that, if exceeded, will ensure that the world will never be the same again. Australia’s contributio...

This week I focus on the future of commonwealth government health funding and begin with consideration of the role of the Medicare levy in commonwealth government spending.
While health expenditure may increase so does revenue from the Medicare levy so long as wages and the workforce continue...

Earlier in the year, there was much talk by the government about the ‘unsustainable’ growth of health funding. In July, the premier of NSW, Mike Baird, joined the party suggesting that the GST should be raised to 15% to help cover rising health costs. But how bad is the situation?
In 2012‒13...

Got a PM, PM we can’t trust
Said a higher GST is a must
Doin’ the GST-a-rosy-rag
Told the voters you must pay
If you want to see a surgeon on another day
He was doin’ the GST-a-rosy-rag
Been around, and new is old
Catch your cold and blow your gold and spend
Doin’ the GST-a-rosy-rag
...

About this time of the year the all-year-round residents of Canberra enjoy a reprieve from the hot air produced on Capital Hill. Pity is that this usually combines with winds that come from the Antarctic via the Snowy Mountains to make Canberra shiver through another winter of sub-zero morning...

[The opening of Australia’s first parliament by Tom Roberts]
Last week I gave a brief outline of how the Westminster parliamentary system evolved in England. Then came Australia which largely adopted the British parliamentary system and recognised the British monarch as head of state.
I ...

[Charles I in parliament: ‘Attempted arrest of the five members’ by Charles West Cope]
Earlier this year we had a couple of pieces that raised issues about the parliamentary and party system in Australia (‘President Abbott’ and ‘Instant Experts’) and in June we had the 800th anniversary of Ma...

In the next few months, most Australians will be considering their financial affairs and the preparation of their annual tax return. It is usually a time for some questioning around how you did manage to spend all that money in the past year and what changes you can make to become thriftier in...

This is a piece about politics but not the politics we normally discuss on TPS. It is a tale of two radical youth: one from the late1960s (me) and one from the 2010s (Jake Bilardi).
You probably know the story of Jake Bilardi, the young Australian who early in March became a suicide bomber...

The idea of ‘national security’ arises from the ‘social contract’ referred to by political philosophers. The concept is that the people gave the power to enforce rules and punishments to their leaders, whether monarchs or elected governments, in return for ‘protection’. Otherwise, in going abo...

While Australia had a uniform Marriage Act from 1961 until 2004, there was nothing specific (except for common law) that prohibited marriage of two people of the same gender. The requirement that marriage was between a man and woman was only inserted into the act by the Howard Government. The ...

The amount of ink spilled in the analysis of the 2015 Australian budget would probably fill Sydney Harbour. The number of electrons expended in the same way would probably light up a small town for a week. There is no need to add to the consumption of electrons here. Instead, let’s look at the sales...

Newsletter

Is China a bully?Is China a bully? If you stopped the average person in the street and asked this question, the answer would probably be a resounding ‘YES’. Why? A bully is defined as: Someone who habitually seeks to harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable. So how could China be a bully? ‘China’ ... 1/06/2020

Give us a breakA week or so ago, we discussed the union bashing disguised as concern for ‘essential workers’ from LNP MPs Andrew Laming and Peter Dutton. Unfortunately, the pitiful behaviours exhibited by these two LNP politicians is not reserved to the outer suburbs of Brisbane.... 25/05/2020

People that live in glass housesYou may have seen Federal MP Andrew Laming’s comment in the media recently suggesting that parents send their children back to school, regardless of the recommendations of the various Education Departments around Australia. The ABC’s version of the story is here.... 18/05/2020

Solar panels: ASD If you are looking for solar panels for your property buy it with ASD. We will guide you in a proper way with ur all question. Also, enjoy the government subsidy on solar panels. Solar panels are the future of a nation. Make Australia as a solar country.. Buy now for your...